When my teacher asked everyone in our FYE class to share something they learned so far, I thought – I haven’t learned anything. I’m the last one who should be giving advice. I was a really social person in high school, but now I sit in my room a lot, and I need to get out more. I only took four classes so I wouldn’t be in over my head, but now I don’t have anything to do. People in my dorm are always studying or going to labs, and I’m just not part of that. I should be taking more classes.
I really got myself in a bind because I didn’t understand how much I’d have to do to keep up my first semester here. I missed a few classes, and then I told myself I’d start going on Monday, and then it was like time just got away from me. When I saw my midterm grades, I kind of freaked out and knew I had to do something fast. It was really hard to talk to my parents, but I figured I’d better tell them before they got a letter or something from UD. My advisor was a big help with explaining options like auditing a class to my mom.
Nothing is different about you just because you’re at college now. I have ADHD and had to take medication in high school. I stopped when I got to college because I thought I could handle it. But just because where I go to school changed, I’m still the same person I was before I came to UD. So things got pretty messed up my first semester, and then I took off in the spring. When I came back this fall, I registered with DSS. Now I take my meds, see my counselor, and go to whatever offices I need to when I have a problem. I’m doing a lot better this time around.
